


one more chance (release from oblivion)

by EllaYuki



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Happy Ending, M/M, POV Castiel (Supernatural), Post-Episode: s15e18 Despair
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-15
Updated: 2020-12-15
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:01:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 485
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28094316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EllaYuki/pseuds/EllaYuki
Summary: It’s a dream. It has to be. Maybe it’s something the Empty does - give you something nice, something your heart can rejoice at and take comfort in, before stripping it away  again and crushing any morsel of hope. Cas thinks the Shadow would do something so cruel.How else could he hear Dean’s voice again?Castiel surfaces from the darkness of the Empty.
Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester
Comments: 2
Kudos: 66





	one more chance (release from oblivion)

Every bone and every muscle and every single strand of hair hurts, and vaguely, hazily, Cas wonders which moment this is, which memory of which regret. He’s relived so many already, some of them over and over again, but this one, he doesn’t remember.

“Is he alive?” he hears, and it takes him a minute to place the voice.  _ Sam _ .  _ Can’t be _ .

“I-”comes the answer, cut off on a choked breath, and Cas’ heart feels curiously like it might burst right out of his chest.  _ It can’t be… _ “He’s breathing, so… I… I think so?”A hand touches his cheek, warm. “Cas? Hey, come on, wake up.”

It’s a dream. It has to be. Maybe it’s something the Empty does - give you something nice, something your heart can rejoice at and take comfort in, before stripping it away again and crushing any morsel of hope. Cas thinks the Shadow  _ would  _ do something so cruel. How else could he hear Dean’s voice again?

“Maybe it takes a while,” Not-Sam says, and he sounds like he’s trying to sound hopeful. He’s missing by a mile, though, in Cas’ opinion. “I mean, we’ve never really seen him immediately after a resurrection, y’know? It can take a while for him to wake up. Or maybe he needs something, like a tether or an incentive.”

There’s a beat of silence, and Cas thinks the dream has ended. He almost sinks back under, hopes for oblivion. He doesn’t need specters of a life he’s given up. He doesn’t need to be reminded of the family he’s left behind, or of… 

He’s tired.

He’s happy with his last living moments. He doesn’t need these illusions. 

The hand on his cheek moves, makes itself impossible to ignore. It goes up and sinks into Cas’ hair, gentle as anything. He shudders at the touch, doesn’t try to suppress the yearning he’s always felt for it. A name escapes his lips, unbidden and unrestrained, but he pays it no mind. It’s just him here, surrounded by meaningless illusions. 

_ It’s a dream. I can say whatever I want in dreams _ .

But. 

The hand stills. “Hey. Hey, I’m here,” says Not-Dean, and it sounds like honey, like sunlight. “I’m here, Cas. Come on, man, wake up.” And dammit all, it sounds so  _ real _ , so heart-wrenching, and so, so convincing. “Open your eyes for me. Please.”

And on an exhale, Cas does. 

And _ ah,  _ even tired, even afraid, even in this moment in which he looks like he might shatter at the slightest touch, Dean still looks beautiful enough for Cas’ heart to sing. 

“Is this real?” he asks, and his voice is hoarse. 

Dean laughs, wet, exhausted, happy, and pulls him close (and  _ oh _ , he’s been nestled in Dean’s embrace. It’s a dizzying thought.) “Yeah. It’s real.” 

And the kiss Dean presses to Cas’ hairline feels just as real. 

Cas closes his eyes. He is home. 


End file.
